But LA residents will likely have to reduce energy use this summer no matter what.

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SoCal Gas and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are at odds over how quickly the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility will be reopened after a devastating leak that released tens of thousands of tons of methane into the atmosphere this past winter.

Ars contacted CPUC for clarification, but we have not yet received a response.

The issue here is that the Aliso Canyon storage field, which is one of the biggest west of the Mississippi, provides the bulk of the natural gas that Southern Californian utilities run on. The field is currently at one-fifth of its capacity, and the utility is currently barred from filling the reservoirs with any more natural gas. State energy officials have said that the reduced natural gas reserves could mean that the Los Angeles area might experience “limited power outages” for up to 14 days this summer and up to 32 days this year.

Last week, CPUC put together a plan (PDF) to deal with the shortages that included making use of a “Flex Alert” program that "calls on residents and businesses to reduce their energy use on days during the summer when electricity demand is highest,” according to a press release.

The release continued: "Other measures recommended in the plan include greater coordination among state and local gas and electrical utilities, more energy efficiency programs, and closer matching of gas supply and demand by large gas customers.”

SoCal Gas said last week in a press release that it will use testing recommended by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to determine whether each of the wells is safe to reopen. Picker seems to agree that that’s a good standard too, but he wants to test all the wells before they come online, whereas SoCal Gas wants to fully test some wells and temporarily shut down others to speed up Aliso Canyon’s time back online.